Sunday

As horrific as the Parkland shootings were, there is violence every day on our streets.

There is finally a mood to act in response.

Gun rights supporters, of which I am one, point out that most gun violence has nothing to do with assault-style weapons.

But there really is no need for a 50- or 100-round clip for hunting or self-defense.

Let’s agree that military grade offensive weapons should not be readily available to children.

Our politicians can work out the details.

For our children, we should be saddened by a cultural decline into bouts of public anger and rage, a loss of civility and the cults of the individual tribalism that breed hate.

We have abandoned all attempts to teach morality in our schools.

We have made God and religion a pariah in our lives.

We have rejected the sanctity of life in our popular culture.

If you really want to stop gun violence, yes, by all means take some guns off the streets.

But let’s also take a look at the sad, hopeless, angry children who are using them.

We must take action before anyone has to lay roses on the grave of another innocent child.

Eduardo Balbona,

Jacksonville

Scott wrong to raise

questions about police

Here is my reaction to Gov. Rick Scott calling for a probe into the police response during the Parkland shooting tragedy:

I guess if you cannot or will not ban automatic weapons, the next best thing that can be done is to cast aspersions on the first responders.

My son is a police officer in a high-crime area of Columbus, Ohio.

He is on the police honor guard and recently participated in the funerals of the two Ohio deputies ambushed and murdered while making a domestic disturbance call.

As a father, I worry about his safety.

As a taxpayer and voter, I am angered that Scott would entertain any attempt to question the integrity and professionalism of these fine officers.

Larry Brown,

Jacksonville

Dramatic moves needed

to truly address guns

Our politicians keep sliming their way out of any meaningful action on gun policies while our young people are shouting they want action now.

Here are things that can be done right now:

• Gov. Rick Scott can arrange to call out the National Guard and assign fully armed service personnel to every public building in the state. We are in at least as severe an emergency as any riot or storm. All members of the National Rifle Association can be declared listed for such service, trained and deployed.

Then just watch as the NRA’s membership rolls plummet.

• A few national organizations with millions of members — like the American Association of Retired Persons or the American Civil Liberties Union — can pledge a huge pot of money and sue the NRA as an accessory to thousands of deaths.

The funds gained from any judgment awarded from the lawsuit must be devoted to a nationwide mental health program.

• A small group should devote its efforts to accumulating a list of all political office holders in all states who receive donations from the NRA are recommended or are given a high letter grade by that organization. This information can be used as the center of a campaign to vote these office holders out of power.

These are steps that can be taken to prevent our country from effectively becoming an armed camp as a society.

Sharon Scholl,

Atlantic Beach

Editorial Board too harsh

rapping Trump on debt

A recent Times-Union editorial criticized President Donald Trump for adding to the national debt while failing to mention how past administrations caused the debt to balloon to $20 trillion.

But it didn't take long for the Washington politicians to return to their prolific spending.

Then, after the catastrophic Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, President George Bush moved to have America invade Iraq — thereby starting a Middle Eastern conflict that's been going on for 15 years and has cost us trillions of dollars without bringing us any closer to resolving the problem.

When Barack Obama became president, he brought with him his "redistribution of wealth" legislation that led to big companies being taxed excessively, causing them to relocate to other countries because of our punitive tax laws. This caused our nation to lose a huge amount of revenue, and also contributed to our deficit. In addition, Obama allowed millions of illegal immigrants to come into our country — which caused more welfare to be distributed.

Meanwhile, our infrastructure continued to crumble, and the war with ISIS continued to drain our treasury.

We need leadership.

And that is what Trump has been providing for the past year while also accomplishing so many things he promised during the campaign.

Helen Louise Jesacher,

Jacksonville

There are clear steps

Trump should take

In the wake of the recent shooting tragedy, here are steps I would take if I were President Donald Trump:

I would:

• Establish a White House panel titled “The White House Commission on Family Values and Culture in Our Homes.”

• Ask all relevant agencies to provide guidance to every mental health facility in America on how to properly assess and aid Americans struggling with mental health problems.

• Step up the effort to eliminate the plagues of illegal drugs and gangs in our society.

• Focus on the impact that the entertainment industry is having by promoting violent movies and gun violence.

• Seek constructive restrictions on social media to keep it from becoming a showplace of vulgarity and inappropriate sources for communication.

• Take a firm stand on encouraging schools to openly promote the greatness of America and give students more insight into why America has led the world in promoting freedom and opportunity.

• Make security in every school a top priority. Kids must be made to feel safe to promote learning.

• Step up efforts to secure our borders, make legal immigration the only way to enter America and seek a law requiring new citizens to learn English within18 months of arriving.

• Reform the FBI so that all Americans can once again have total trust in the agency.

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